Private Chains of the Galaxy (18+)

[EpicVakarian]

The emptiness of space is a terrifying thing. Such emptiness that there is no air, no sound, nothing. And yet, the advanced races of the Milky Way galaxy, using ancient technology, have conquered that emptiness.
What follows is the events of the most important era of the Milky Way's history, told from the eyes of an unlikely group of pilots, soldiers and civilians...

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Abigail Addison-Taylor was bored, sat in the bar. The Citadel was a beautiful place; at least, the Presidium was. The Wards, the five long "arms" of the Citadel, were quite the opposite. They were basically the lower-class living of the station, and it was here that Abby found herself in the bar.​

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The other inhabitants were few and far between. There was a reasonably attractive red-haired woman sat nearby, who was fairly tall, in a leather jacket and cargo pants. A large dog sat beside her obediently. A little bit behind her was a comely young man who looked only a little older than Abby herself, with messy fair hair and a stubble, sat beside a small drell woman in a red shirt, black jacket and leather trousers that showed off her wide hips. Sat at the bar was a long-haired, bearded man in a t-shirt and combat trousers, alongside an asari in a tank top, showing off her reasonably large breasts.​

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These were the only people in the bar with Abby; they seemed interesting, but something had just come up on the television that was much more so.​

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The SSV Normandy, the Alliance ship constructed with the help of turian technology, had returned from its mission on Eden Prime. David Anderson, the captain, brought back the body of the Spectre Nihlus that had come along, with his first mate John Shepard having apparently seen important visions. Abby scoffed at first. Then the newsreader mentioned the Council meeting that was going on right now; Shepard claimed that a Spectre called Saren had gone rogue, and had been behind the geth attack.​

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This made Abby's ears prick up, along with everyone else. Everyone was staring up at the screen, and everyone's eyes were wide, apparently with shock.​

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"I got to say, it's a pretty convincing story." Abby projected her voice so that everyone could hear her. "Saren's only defence is that "Shepard's talking nonsense"? Shepard at least has evidence."​

 

[CapObvious]

The bar was rather empty that day. Enough so that Brom could see every pair of eyes in the room with him. He had to admit, this was a rather pleasant change. It was slightly peaceful for once, aside from the hum of the news monitor that rambled dumbly about the everyday monotony of Citadel political life.

Brom just stared through his glasses into his drink, avoiding wandering eyes, while Nikah studied the people in the room. She was mostly just people watching, but also subconsciously gauging the threat potential of each of the patrons. It seemed silly, but Nikah never believed she could be too careful.

She lived on Omega, after all. There, everyone was suspect. Why should she treat the Citadel any different?

As she continued to scan the others, Brom's eyes rose to the monitor, just in time to catch the story of the verbal battle between the Council and it's top Spectre, Saren, and the Human ambassador, along with what seemed to be a naval officer and what looked to be his first mate. Across the bottom of the screen rolled the words, "Eden Prime Attacked, Spectre Saren Accused." Brom scoffed and took a drink.

This ought to be good.

As he listened, he could hear the back and forth lashing between the Spectre and the man's first mate, which had been previously referred to as Shepard. Try as hard as he might, the Council seemed to dismiss every word the man said, while boosting the Spectre's ego with every statement. Brom wasn't surprised. Human's were seen as a rude and crude people, especially by the Turians, so of course they were going to kiss the floor Saren walked on.

Unsurprisingly, the humans lost, as they had little to no evidence to support their claim. Saren was cleared, and the reporter returned to the screen.

Nikah looked past Brom and chuckled lightly. "Well. That went well. I honestly don't see why your people try anymore." Brom was about to reply, but was cut off as one of the patrons, the girl with the pink colored hair, piped up about what they had just seen.

"I got to say, it's a pretty convincing story." Everyone in the bar turned to her, but she only continued. "Saren's only defence is that "Shepard's talking nonsense"? Shepard at least has evidence."

Brom took another drink, not responding to her response to the situation. Nikah decided to, however, but didn't look to the girl as she did so.

"It is interesting, but I believe the Salarian councilor was right. One Stock-worker's testimony just isn't compelling enough to call evidence, let alone accuse their best agent of treason."



Brom only nodded, keeping his eyes down.

 

[Andre Marek]

Skylar Drake lounged back in her seat at the bar who's name she couldn't remember and downed a mouthful of the beer sitting on the table in front of her. Setting the glass down, she glanced down at Ajax, the german shepherd laying at her feet, "Huh boy? You buy that non-sense about rogue Specters?" She said in german. Ajax lifted his head from his paws and tilted his head at her inquisitively before glancing at the tv screen with a confused look on his face. Skylar smirked. Ajax was smart, probably more so than some of the people she knew back on Earth, but that didn't help him make any sense of the video on the screen. She reached down, scratching behind his ears just as one of the other patrons in the bar, a young woman with striking pink hair, spoke up, "I got to say, it's a pretty convincing story. Saren's only defence is that Shepard's talking nonsense"? Shepard at least has evidence." Skylar glanced at the woman then back at the screen. She took another drink and was about to respond when someone else spoke up from across the room. "It is interesting, but I believe the Salarian councilor was right. One Stock-worker's testimony just isn't compelling enough to call evidence, let alone accuse their best agent of treason." It was a drell woman sitting at a table with a human man. Skylar thought that was an odd match but she could hardly make any insights on just a first glance.

Skylar looked away from the tv and at the drell, "I've definitely heard worse stories before." Ajax stared at the girl intensely as she spoke, "Not to mention I've seen people get thrown in jail based on the claims of people far less reputable than a navy captain." She absent mindedly scratched Ajax' ears as she thought, "I'm not totally convinced either way but I doubt the council is even willing to take the word of a human as anything worth acting on period." It was no different than back on earth. Some nations just weren't as respectable as others and were always hard pressed to be taken seriously on the world stage. And now that humanity was part of galactic politics, they found themselves in exactly that position. Sure, they weren't quite on the same level as the Batarians or say, the Vorcha, but still, humanity wasn't seen as a serious player either. Yet.

 

[Wolfbane]

Vex knew that there was other people around him, but he was focused on the TV, along with Selenia. "You know how that will turn out. Its a hard case to prove. I doubt the council will take Shepard's word over their spectre. Maybe that's just me being cynical." He looked at his Asari friend, then looked around the room to take a look at the other people having a drink. There was a young girl with attention grabbing pink hair sitting at a table, a cute red head with her fateful dog at her side, a rugged looking man with messed hair and a stubble sitting next to drell woman wearing a red shirt along with a blue jacket and pants that complimented her hips, and finally you have Vex and Selenia. "You could be right. He might have a small chance at least. One things for sure Vex, I think we both want justice." Selenia nodded to Vex and looked back to listen more to the TV. "I got to say, it's a pretty convincing story. Saren's only defence is that "Shepard's talking nonsense"? Shepard at least has evidence." Vex and Selenia glanced over to the girl with the pink hair. "Yeah, if they believe Shepard over their favored Spectre. Saren doesn't need evidence when he has the council licking his boots." Selenia then punch Vex in the arm to get him to shut up. "What he means to say is that Shepard will have a hard time. Don't mind him." They then proceeded to turn back in unison. "Be nice Teller, She was just making conversation. It isn't like she is the cause of your sleeping troubles." She only calls him by either his real names when she is being affectionate and flirty, or when she is trying to prove a point. Vex sighed than nodded at Selenia's point. "Yeah, yeah." As they got done talking, the hearing was underway and all eyes shifted towards the TV. Seeing that shepard shortly lost, Vex rolled his eyes and tapped his fingers."It is interesting, but I believe the Salarian councilor was right. One Stock-worker's testimony just isn't compelling enough to call evidence, let alone accuse their best agent of treason." The drell woman then chimed in. As soon as the drell stopped, the redhead continued the conversation."I've definitely heard worse stories before. "Not to mention I've seen people get thrown in jail based on the claims of people far less reputable than a navy captain." She leaned over to scratch her dog before continuing."I'm not totally convinced either way but I doubt the council is even willing to take the word of a human as anything worth acting on period." He looked towards the redhead to address her. "That's not surprising. Lack of evidence, the obvious distaste for humanity, and bringing in the visions didn't help. That's politics for you." He gave a quick snarl after saying what he thought of the situation. He isn't racist on most occasions, but what just happened bothered him. Humanity is looked down upon by most races.

As everybody was talking, Selenia began to think and use her biotics to play with her empty glass. "I have a feeling that this is just the beginning. The beginning of a treacherous chapter in this life."

 

[Simus]

Jessica sat at one of the round wooden tables in the common room of the Shin Akiba Mental Health Center in Zakara Ward. The wall mounted TV was on and it was turned to the news. Jessica ignored it: news here on the Citadel was just as annoying as it was back on Earth. The same few stories were played over and over and over. The only thing breaking it up was ads about overpriced crap she'd never buy and never wanted to buy. It provided no refuge from her dismal surroundings, or her shattered world.

A week ago she and her parents were on holiday on Eden Prime. It was paradise; calm, quiet, productive farmland where everyone greeted each other with a friendly smile and a hello and travelers were always welcome. It was described on the vids as humanity's oldest and most productive colony and it was easy for Jessica to see why. She had access to more trees and sky and flowing rivers than she ever knew existed and all the comforts of Earth at the colony when she was done exploring. It was nothing like anything D.C in the U.S or Jerusalem in Israel could offer. It was a place where Jessica felt right at home.

Then the Geth attacked.

They came in waves. With pulse rifles and flamethrowers. With giant spikes that impaled people and turned them into mindless, clawing husks. They came with walking tanks that burned everything their flashlight cannon heads gazed upon and they came with a single massive ship that could burn an entire forest with a single shot from its huge terrifying cannon. This ship incinerated the local marines like ants to a magnifying glass and then they took Jessica's parents. Jessica herself only survived because she hid like a coward. She hid until the ship was gone and more Marines found her. That was four days ago.

They brought her back to the Citadel where they said it was safe but it didn't matter anymore. Jessica had lost everything to those machines. She was broken and she wanted to die. That was why she was here in this hospital. She had tried to kill herself twice. Once with a pistol, once with an omni-knife. She was still alive and had large patches of medi-gel on her wrists and right cheek for her trouble. Plus she was in a place with crazy people. A place without knives or razor blades or omni-tools or shoes. Not even her zip up boots were allowed. She was given plastic utensils for her meals and was searched when she was done. The nurses said it was so she couldn't hurt herself but she felt like a prisoner. She wanted to die, to escape from the pain her life had become, and she had lost everything that could make that happen. How could doctors be so cruel?

One of the nurses, a middle aged human named Madelyn, walked over to Jessica and smiled at the sight of the small girl in her blue one piece footy pajamas. Jessica loved footy pajamas and had four pairs with different prints. She had lived in them for the last four days, seeing no reason to get dressed while in a facility she couldn't leave and couldn't wear shoes in. Today's pair happened to be her favorite but they were all warm, comfy and very cute. Given her circumstances, they helped.

"Morning Jess." Madelyn said smiling down at her.

"Hi Madelyn, how are you today?" Jess said with a forced smile.

"Not bad, how are you. Your jammies are cute today. My favorite so far."

"Thanks. They're my favorite pair. Do I have to see you again today? Not much has changed."

"You have to see me every day you're here Jess, we told you that when you were admitted. What, you don't like me?" She said with a sarcastic smile.

"No, it's not that, I'm just not sure what we'll talk about. I didn't mean to offend you, I promise!" Jessica said, genuinely sorry. Madelyn just chuckled. "It's okay hon. I was just kidding, you can relax." She took a seat next to Jessica. and took one of her hands.

"I know how hard this has been for you and you feel pressured to suddenly get better. You don't have to. You've been though something no one your age should have to go through and I'm here to help you put yourself back together. That's what we're talking about Jess."

"I was a coward Madelyn." Jess said with a sniffle. "I should have stayed and fought but I hid. I hid while my parents got incinerated by those...those...monsters. I failed them."

"Jess, you're sixteen years old. You're not a marine, you're not a soldier. You did the right thing by hiding and no one expected you to fight Geth. Hell, no one expected the marines to fight Geth. No one's seen them in three hundred years. Humans have never seen them. What happened on Eden Prime wasn't your fault."

"Why did I get to survive when so many others didn't? What's gonna happen to me now? I have no idea what to do. I have no home, no family within reach, no money, where am I gonna go?"

"We're gonna help you with that Jess. There are millions of people in this galaxy in situations just like yours. Why do you think we have an entire hospital for just one section of one Ward? It's not all for you and you are not alone. It's gonna be okay Jess. All you need is time and I'll be here to take care of you for all of it."

"Do you promise?"

"It's my job Jess. I promise." Madelyn pulled Jessica up to her feet as she got up then took the small girl into a big hug. Jessica gladly returned it and snuggled into Madelyn's chest. She had been her only friend in the last four days. She had kept her alive.

"You enjoy your breakfast. What are your plans for the day?"

"Thanks Madelyn, I will." Jessica said from the safety of Madelyn's arms. "I've been to a lot of hospitals because of my biotics and this has the best food of them all. Bacon and french toast always makes me feel better. I think I'm gonna go back to my room after this. Take a nap."

"You do that, I'll see you later okay?"

"Okay. Thanks Madelyn." Jessica said before she broke the hug. "By the way, you ever heard of Commander Shepard? He's the one that saved Eden Prime? I've thought about it and I'm not angry at him anymore. I was because I felt like he ignored me and let my parents die but considering all the geth that were down there and whatever he did to drive that giant ship off, it's pretty miraculous that he's alive. He saved me Madelyn. I'm gonna thank him if I ever get to meet him someday."

"That's nice to hear. What changed your mind?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe I've had time to think about it. Maybe it's because of the trouble he's having with the Council right now. Maybe I just want to get out of here and know I won't any time soon. It feels like I'm in prison. A very comfortable prison with people who want to help me get better but a prison nonetheless. What do you think about Shepard's story? About that Spectre Saren leading the Geth against Eden Prime? I mean, Shepard doesn't seem to have much evidence but Saren's got no real argument. I kind of feel like the Council's got their head up their asses."

"They do hon. Don't worry about that. Commander Shepard's a war hero. I was at Elysium when he stopped the Skyllian Blitz. That man's word is as good as his aim and he'll show the Council what they need to see. I've gotta go, see you later."

"Bye Madelyn." Jessica said, giving Madelyn another hug. She soon finished her breakfast, went back to her room and got back into bed, curling up under her ample blankets. She was warm and comfy, her belly was full and Madelyn always made her feel better. For the moment, she was content."

 

[Andre Marek]

"I have a feeling that this is just the beginning. The beginning of a treacherous chapter in this life." Skylar looked over at the asari sitting at the bar next to the guy with the beard. Jeez, dreary much... She picked up her glass again and said, "Why don't you be just a bit more ominous. Someone here might not have gotten a chill. Wouldn't want them to miss out." finished the last of her beer and then signaled the barman for another. "Besides, you know something the rest of us don't? Why do you think this is 'just the beginning'?" Despite her own words, Skylar almost agreed with the woman. The story sounded just bad enough that it might have a grain or two of truth. Worst case scenario, the whole thing was just as they'd said it was and there really was a rogue Specter out there at the head of an army of Geth. Skylar shivered at the thought. She hated AI's at the best of times, along with robots, and when the two were combined... Now that's something I couldn't handle. A galaxy run by those machines. At least it probably won't happen in my lifetime. She thought hopefully.

 

[EpicVakarian]

Abby was swarmed with responses. First was the bearded man:
"Yeah, if they believe Shepard over their favoured Spectre. Saren doesn't need evidence when he has the council licking his boots." His asari friend punched him, turning to Abby and speaking herself.
"What he means to say is that Shepard will have a hard time. Don't mind him." She turned back to the man, scolding him under her breath.
"It is interesting, but I believe the salarian councilor was right. One stock-worker's testimony just isn't compelling enough to call evidence, let alone accuse their best agent of treason." Her companion, the human man, simply nodded. Next was the red-headed woman with the large dog.
"I've definitely heard worse stories before. Not to mention I've seen people get thrown in jail based on the claims of people far less reputable than a navy captain. I'm not totally convinced either way, but I doubt the council is even willing to take the word of a human as anything worth acting upon, period."
Then the bearded man spoke up again.
"That's not surprising. Lack of evidence, the obvious distaste for humanity, and bringing in the visions didn't help. That's politics for you." The asari woman next to him lifted her glass with biotics, her hand glowing blue as the glass floated upwards slowly.
"I have a feeling that this is just the beginning. The beginning of a treacherous chapter in this life." The red-head rolled her eyes.
"Why don't you just be a bit more ominous. Someone here might have gotten a chill. Wouldn't want them to miss out." She leaned back, signalling to the barkeep for another drink. "Besides, you know something the rest of us don't? Why do you think this is 'just the beginning'?"

"I know what you mean. Even if Saren's not to blame, something's going bad." Abby gave a nod to the asari. "I see something in Shepard's eyes, something that wouldn't be there if he was lying. Not unless he was an extremely talented actor, and seeing as he's Alliance Navy, I don't think that's the case." She gazed up at the screen, seeing Ambassador Udina, Captain Anderson and Commander Shepard get waved off and discounted, like so many children. The sight made her grit her teeth. Humanity might well have been the dominant power for nearly fifty thousand years as far as humans themselves were concerned; but up here, in the rest of the galaxy, they were a minority, being mistreated, like the Council matched all the terrible regimes of the 20th century, bullying the humans because of their relative youth. "And you're right," Abby said, gazing to the bearded man. "The Council clearly don't give a crap. They'll do nothing unless its served up for them on a plate and they can't refuse it."

The TV screen flickered away from the hearing, back to the news being read out by an asari and a turian, and the eyes of the bar turned away.
"I think Shepard's telling the truth. It doesn't matter what he saw; geth haven't been seen outside the Perseus Veil for nearly three hundred years. Something has to have provoked them to come out of hiding. Geth aren't aggressive, they defend what they have. There's no feasible way that the geth just decided to attack Eden Prime, of all places. And the geth haven't even been in contact with humanity. If there was anyone to attack, it would be the quarians. The humans have done nothing to the geth. Saren's a turian, around the age to have served in First Contact. He's clearly got this hatred for humans, and listen to him. If he told you to shoot your mother, you'd do it; he's one of those people. Everything Shepard's saying is making sense. I think that Saren has the geth in his pocket, and is using them to attack the humans. That sounds arrogant, but there's no other perfect explanation that I can see."

 

[Wolfbane]

"Why don't you be just a bit more ominous. Someone here might not have gotten a chill. Wouldn't want them to miss out." Selenis turned to Vex and gave a slight mischievous smile, then turned to the woman with a look of seriousness. "A lot more blood will be shed. Just a matter of time before people feel more than a chill." She really didn't put much stock into the words at first, but thinking about gave her a bad feeling nonetheless."Besides, you know something the rest of us don't? Why do you think this is 'just the beginning'?" Before Selenia could answer, Vex answered the question for her. "A feeling." He turned to face the red headed woman to continue the conversation, "The geth haven't been seen outside the veil in over 200 years. You honestly think they would go attack a colony for no reason and just scurry back from where they came? I don't think so." He then turned back and glanced at the TV while thinking to himself. 'All I know this, I'm going to make those synthetic bastards pay for what they did We're going to make them pay.' He turned to Selenia after the last thought. He quickly ordered another drink and continued to blankly stare at the TV.

Noticing that Vex was staring off into space, she decided to see what was going on. "Hey, you alright? You have that look you get when your thinking, or you're bothered." She put her hand on his shoulder, and in turn he gave a half smile and nodded. "Eden Prime almost reminds me of my home, and the people there. Thinking what happened to the people there pisses me off. I wish we could do something and make those bastards pay." His fist tightened slightly, then turned towards Selenia. "I know, me too. Be glad it wasn't your planet, or your loved ones. The best we can do is pray for the living, and remember the fallen. We both know there's too much injustice in the galaxy to take on by ourselves.Why do you think we became freelance? It was so we could bring justice. Sure the money helps, but it was the thought that we were helping people." while the two of them were talking, the girl with the pink hair was giving answered to the past comments.

"I know what you mean. Even if Saren's not to blame, something's going bad." She then gave a nod to the Selenia. "I see something in Shepard's eyes, something that wouldn't be there if he was lying. Not unless he was an extremely talented actor, and seeing as he's Alliance Navy, I don't think that's the case." The girl was gritting her teeth at the sight of Shepard, Anderson, and Udina getting dismissed. "And you're right," She glanced at Vex to answer him. "The Council clearly don't give a crap. They'll do nothing unless its served up for them on a plate and they can't refuse it.I think Shepard's telling the truth. It doesn't matter what he saw; geth haven't been seen outside the Perseus Veil for nearly three hundred years. Something has to have provoked them to come out of hiding. Geth aren't aggressive, they defend what they have. There's no feasible way that the geth just decided to attack Eden Prime, of all places. And the geth haven't even been in contact with humanity. If there was anyone to attack, it would be the quarians. The humans have done nothing to the geth. Saren's a turian, around the age to have served in First Contact. He's clearly got this hatred for humans, and listen to him. If he told you to shoot your mother, you'd do it; he's one of those people. Everything Shepard's saying is making sense. I think that Saren has the geth in his pocket, and is using them to attack the humans. That sounds arrogant, but there's no other perfect explanation that I can see." She looked away like the rest of the bar did when the segment changed. The council blew the Commander and the rest of his group off, almost like a child. Humanity was advanced, but up in space with the older races, they might as well be children in the eyes of the other races. The council taking the word of their best Spectre, that's a turian, over the word of a human commander, was not a surprising sight.

 

[Andre Marek]

As the girl with the pink hair talked, Skylar idly scratched Ajax's earas she listened. The large canine tilted his head, pushing against her hand. The girl mad e some good points. The turian, Saren, he did have a rather sinister air about him. It was pretty common knowledge that turian-human relations weren't the greatest with the Contact War still relatively fresh in everyones minds and Saren was in the perfect position to take out some of his frustrations and angers. No one would question a Council Specter, no sane person anyway. The jury was still out on Anderson and Sheperd as far as Skylar was concerned. The kids right... The whole thing stinks. Even if Sheperd isn't telling the truth, the Council still should have found it suspicious that the Geth just up and attacked Eden Prime. Not to mention that, of all people, the commander decided to pin it on their best Specter, despite that he must have know it would be an up-hill fight. It was just about everything Skylar didn't like about the universe all rolled up into one neat little package. Politicians, in-justice, geth...

"Ok, lets say you're right and Sheperd and Anderson aren't lying." Skylar said, "What do you think should be done about it? The Council isn't going to say plops to their top Specter, not without evidence anyway, and the Alliance is probably going to side with them, if only to save face. Now isn't the time for humanity to go pissing off the rest of the races." Skylar thought it was high time somebody got down to brass tacks and did something about the attack on Earths largest colony. Even if Saren proved innocent, she wasn't about to let whoever had been behind it get off the hook that easily.

 

[CapObvious]

"I see something in Shepard's eyes, something that wouldn't be there if he was lying. Not unless he was an extremely talented actor, and seeing as he's Alliance Navy, I don't think that's the case." The pink haired girl deduced, gritting her teeth. "And you're right, The Council clearly don't give a crap. They'll do nothing unless its served up for them on a plate and they can't refuse it.I think Shepard's telling the truth. It doesn't matter what he saw; geth haven't been seen outside the Perseus Veil for nearly three hundred years. Something has to have provoked them to come out of hiding. Geth aren't aggressive, they defend what they have. There's no feasible way that the geth just decided to attack Eden Prime, of all places. And the geth haven't even been in contact with humanity. If there was anyone to attack, it would be the quarians. The humans have done nothing to the geth. Saren's a turian, around the age to have served in First Contact. He's clearly got this hatred for humans, and listen to him. If he told you to shoot your mother, you'd do it; he's one of those people. Everything Shepard's saying is making sense. I think that Saren has the geth in his pocket, and is using them to attack the humans. That sounds arrogant, but there's no other perfect explanation that I can see."

Nikah listened to the girl as she spoke, but as always, was staring off in the distance, this time somewhere past Brom's head. Brom was listening as well, but, same as Nikah, wasn't looking at the girl. When she finished, Brom's head came alive, as Nikah's presence became known. They had grown very close, almost as close as siblings, and that was enough for Nikah and Brom to form a neural pairing, which helped them communicate without actually communicating. IT seemed a lot like telepathy, an idea from books and stories from Brom's past, but this was something much different. This was another great gift the Drell woman shared with Brom, and another reason why they were arguably the best their was.



Nikah's voice rang throughout Brom's head, breaking his mental silence.

"What are you thinking, Brom? What do you make of this?"

Brom looked toward Nikah, giving her a meaningful look, even if she wasn't looking directly at him.

"I think we should get out of here, before this girl talks our ears off. Well, mine anyway."

Nikah smiled faintly at Brom's small jest, then spoke again. "Maybe so. But this girl is bringing up valid point after valid point. While I may not understand what this may accomplish, attacking a lone human colony," She paused, her blank gaze turning to Brom. "It feels to me to be a far more sinister purpose than blatant racism."

Brom looked to her as well, and nodded. Brom knew better than to question Nikah's gut feelings. She was nearly never wrong.

"Ok, lets say you're right and Shepard and Anderson aren't lying." The woman with the dog said. "What do you think should be done about it? The Council isn't going to say pl*** to their top Specter, not without evidence anyway, and the Alliance is probably going to side with them, if only to save face. Now isn't the time for humanity to go pissing off the rest of the races."

Nikah shook her head. "Maybe so. However leaving your people under then knife for some useless council seat or spectre candidacy isn't what this situation calls for, either." She said. Brom followed close behind, finally breaking his silence.

"He needs to find some damned evidence, and he needs to find it now." Brom stated. Nikah silently agreed.

 

[EpicVakarian]

"Okay, let's say you're right and Shepard and Anderson aren't lying." The redhead looked up. "What do you think should be done about it? The Council isn't going to say pl*** to their top Spectre, not without evidence, anyway, and the Alliance is probably going to side with them, if only to save face." The woman seemed disgusted at her own words, as if she believed Shepard were telling the truth but knew that his story wouldn't help against the Council. "Now isn't the time for humanity to go pissing off the other races."

Before Abby could respond, the drell woman shook her head.
"Maybe so. However, leaving your people under the knife for some useless Council seat or Spectre candidacy isn't what this situation calls for, either."
Her companion, the tall, bearded human male, was much less subtle.
"He needs to find some damned evidence, and he needs to find it now."

Abby knew what he meant. If Shepard didn't bring actual evidence into the picture, he'd get thrown aside like a damned dog. And she believed that Shepard was talking truth; the story was convincing, if a little poorly backed up.

In any case, it was getting surprisingly late in terms of Abby's sleep cycle. She yawned, stretching her arms out behind her and loosening up her muscles before standing up, placing her glass on the bar just a little way past the drell woman.
"Even if the Council defend Saren constantly, Shepard'll still go after him. If he's convinced Saren's trying something bad, he won't care about Spectre candidacy."

And with that, Abby left the conversation, slipping her hands into her pockets and strolling off toward her relatively small but comfortable apartment. She dropped herself down on the fairly large bed, pulling off her clothes and slipping on her bedclothes; the loose fitting yet cosy one-piece black jumpsuit that left her lower arms and legs uncovered. Folding her clothes into a pile and placing them on top of a stack of drawers, she lifted her legs under the duvet, flipping off the light and closing her eyes.

 

[Simus]

Jessica woke up two hours later. The ever-evening sky of the Wards shined through her window, highlighting the expansive cityscape. The wards here were populated by many strange aliens and constructed by some of the strangest of all. Humans were the minority here on the Citadel but the cities looked like something humans would build. She thought it was funny how that worked. That no matter where you went people liked big cities. Asari, Salarians, Turians, Volus, Elcor, Hanar, they all had cities. Humans were just one more addition to this great galactic melting pot. It was too bad the Geth were trying to destroy it all.

She then noticed heated voices coming from the common room that opened up the end of the hall. Jessica's room was always open to monitor her easily and was in the middle of the hallway. Sound simply had to cross the low wall that divided the common room from the hallway dorms to reach her and this made it loud and noisy. She was about to get up and tell those outside to keep it down when she also noticed Thrax. Her green-skinned Salarian roommate sat on his bed with his legs folded and stared at her with those big oval eyes. Thrax had never seen a human before and Jessica filled him with wonder. It was a bit creepy, but also flattering.

"I wouldn't go out there." He said, never breaking his stare. "Keith and Vaax are fighting again."

"You mean they didn't fight enough in group last night?" Jessica asked, getting back under her covers and rolling over to her side to face Thrax.

"Apparently not. I can't blame them though. Fighting on opposite sides of a war no one got to finish leaves old scars. My father's 34 and he still hates all Krogan."

"That doesn't seem so old. How old are you?"

"Ten. Supposedly the prime of my youth but I'm in a hospital after drinking a pint of Rynthol so you be the judge."

"Ten? Is that all you are? You seem much older than that."

"Salarian years are different than human years Jess. Haven't I told you that before? We only live till we're about 40."

It took a moment but Jessica did remember. "That's right, you did tell me that. I guess that'll make you...what...25 in human years? First quarter of life? Still young and healthy but only a few years toward middle age?"

"Yes, that's a good analogy." Thrax said, nodding his head and blinking his massive eyes. The thin membranes he had for eyelids were translucent when he blinked. Jessica could see veins running across them when they came up from his eyes instead of down. Jessica found it fascinating. "Can I ask you something Jess?"

"Sure Thrax, what's up?"

"What's it like to have hair?"

 

[CapObvious]

Brom noticed that after the woman said her last bit, she had left the room. Which meant the conversation, as far as he was concerned, was over. He looked to Nikah, who seemed to be mulling over said conversation. He looked to his tool and realized how late it had become.

"Damn." He paused to finish his drink hastily, then patted Nikah's arm. "Time to go. We're going to be late." Nikah seemed to be shocked awake from her mulling, then nodded. "Of course." She stood to her feet and stepped off, with Brom following close behind.

The walk was mostly quiet. Well, at least between the two of them. Nikah continued her mulling, mumbling as she replayed the conversation over and over again in her mind, analyzing it. They continued to walk wordlessly to their small apartment, weaving through the loud populace, who were rambling about their cushion soft lives.

Without an apparent cause, Nikah's serious demeanor cracked into a small smile, causing Brom to speak up. "What's going on in that head of yours?"

Nikah laughed once, then looked ahead. "As I was analyzing the last few moments, I noticed something interesting. Specifically about that girl with the pink hair."

Brom looked to her incredulously. "What was so interesting about her?" Nikah was about to answer, but she was caught off guard, as she bumped into a Volus as they walked down a small flight of steps. Brom, out of protective instinct, shoved him over.

The Volus spoke up, feeling irate. *Inhale* "Watch it!"

Brom looked back to the small, suited rat and stared him in the eyes. The Volus, who had previously acted tough, seemed to melt at the sight of Brom's burning hatred that poured from his eyes. Brom turned and caught up with Nikah, who seemed to be frowning now.

"You don't need to strong arm every person in the galaxy. I could have easily dispatched him if it got ugly." Brom shook his head. "I understand that, but I wont let you change the subject." Nikah sighed disapprovingly under her breath. She had hoped he had forgotten. Brom continued. "What about the girl from the bar?"

Nikah sighed, her eyes finally making contact to the apartment door. "Her eyes." Brom looked at her again, confused. The pair entered the door and reached the elevator.

Nikah continued as soon as the elevator rose from the ground floor. "Her gaze lingered on you for a time. She was studying you." She made a small chuckle, and Brom groaned. "Now I wish I hadn't asked."

The pair of them reached their room soon after, and Brom finally seemed to be at ease. He exhaled and removed his shirt, tossing it on his side of the room in the corner. Nikah removed her jacket, then tossed it similarly to her corner. She undressed and changed into her usual night wear: A loose fitting tunic that stretched just below the start of her thighs. Brom however remained in his combat fatigue pants, but removed his boots, and anything else that would obstruct their next task.

The room was simple. Four walls, two weapon racks, two closets, and a single light that hung high in the center. No beds, no useless fluff like couches or the like. They had given up the simple pleasures and relaxations the apartment had originally offered. What they needed was all there, and they were satisfied.

After some final preparations, Brom sat in the middle of the room, his back straight and his hands on his knees. His father's tags hung loose around his neck. Nikah soon sat behind him, resting her back against his, using his spine to guide her back into the optimal position. They were to sit there the rest of the night, without moving. This is how they were to sleep. Brom had to get used to this kind of rest, but Nikah had done it for years. Brom would need to learn if they were to be continue working together. Comfort was not always available, and they would have to take what they could get.

Nikah sighed, then closed her eyes. "Sleep well, Brom." Brom nodded, closing his, hoping that he would make it through this time. "You too, Nik."

 

[Andre Marek]

Skylar watched as the asari and the human man headed off after the pink haired woman. As the two turned out of sight, she downed a mouthful of her beer. Ajax looked up at her, tilting his head as he looked at the glass and then at her. She raised her eyebrow at him, "Oh yeah? You want some?" She tilted the glass his way, grinning. Ajax pricked his ears up. With a smirk, Skylar leaned down and tilted the glass so that Ajax could get the end of his muzzle into it and lap up what was left of the drink. When he was done, she placed the glass on the table and stood up, readjusting her jacket and dropping a few credit chips on the table.

"Come on boy, lets get out of here." Skylar headed for the doors, Ajax following close behind. Outside the bar the wards were still bathed in the dim glow of a thousand neon lights, vaguely reminding her of the Omega skyline, minus the asteroid in the distance of course. And the thugs lining the streets, and the smell of red sands on the air. If she never had to do another job on that space station again, it would be too soon. A place full of criminals wasn't exactly conductive to a federal agents life expectancy. It was fun on her off time though.

It took her about twenty minutes to reach the neighborhood that the high rise that her suite she'd rented was in. The place was on the thirtieth floor, giving her an excellent view of the entire ward and then into the star scape beyond. With a wet bar, eighty inch view screen with twenty speaker surround sound, fully stocked wet bar, and a king size bed, that thankfully, she had all to herself tonight. Well, except for Ajax anyway. As soon as she opened the door, he immediately ran over to the oversized sectional and promptly jumped up on it and made himself comfortable. Skylar threw her jacket on the back of the couch and smirked at Ajax, who responded by tilting his head and then looking at the view screen.

Skylar glanced at her watch; 12:30. "Not as late as I thought." She said with a sigh. "I wasn't gonna go to sleep anyway." Grabbing the remote she turned the view screen on and flopped down on the couch beside Ajax.

 

[Simus]

"Uh...is that a serious question?" Jessica asked Thrax with a confused look.

"Well...yeah." Thrax said, acting as if that were the most obvious question in the world. "I mean...Salarians don't have hair so we wouldn't know. It'd be the same thing if you asked me what it's like to grow up in a pond with fifty brothers and sisters."

Jessica thought for a moment, then realized he was right. "Yeah? Yeah...I guess it would." She then thought about his question and how to answer it. "Well...um...I'm not quite sure what you're asking so how bout I give you a general overview, then you can ask more specific questions. Okay?" Thrax seemed pleased by this and sat ready to listen. "Unlike salarians, humans are mammals who developed purely on land. You spend a lot of your lives in water whereas most mammals spend much of their lives dry. Humans always live on dry land and that exposes us to a lot of elements that marine and amphibian life doesn't have to worry about. Hair provides us with some resistance to that. It keeps us warm for one thing, and it helps insulate our reproductive organs. Maintains stable temperature. Humans have much stronger sex drives than salarians but not as strong as asari. Hair plays a role in this too, as a means to attract a mate. Men look good with hair on their chest and sometimes their face. Absence of facial hair is usually associated with intelligence these days. Women look good with the absence of hair on their body but lots on their head. We like to shape it and play with it to look attractive. Some wear it long and some wear it short for both sexes, but usually you're going to find men have short hair and facial hair and women have long hair with no hair anywhere else. Does that answer your question?"

Thrax was amazed by this. "Yeah! Yeah it does! Thanks Jess! One question though: How come you don't have facial hair?"

"Women can't grow facial hair Thrax. Even if we could it wouldn't look attractive."

"Oh. Okay, I see. I'm sorry if I asked you an uncomfortable question. I've read a lot about humans but I've never seen one before! There's a lot of people here on the Citadel who don't like humans because they think they're trying to change too much too fast. I think it's really exciting! Your people seem like a really well-balanced race, that's probably why the Council granted you an embassy so quickly. I mean, you're almost as smart as the asari, almost as energetic as us salarians and almost as strong and good at fighting as the turians. If you ask me, it's a perfect combination!"

Jessica was touched by Thrax's words. She had never heard such high praise from an alien and didn't know what to say. "Wow...do you really mean all that Thrax? That's really nice of you to say. Thank you."

"Yep. I sure do Jess! Plus you've got some great video games. Maybe once I get out of here I'll open up a video game store here in the wards."

"Well if you do Thrax I'll be your first customer!" Jess said smiling. She had only been here two days and Thrax had been a good friend to her. He didn't seem like he had anywhere else to go and she certainly didn't, but they had found each other. Their quick friendship had made this place a little better.

As they were talking, one of the other patients, an Elcor with a pair of silver earrings and a blue head drape lumbered over to their door.

"Politely: Excuse me Jessica and Thrax but it is time for lunch. Madelyn asked me to come and get both of you. Excitedly: I hear we are having steak sandwiches today. I cannot wait for that. Urgently: We should get to them before they're all gone."

"Thanks Bruk, we'll be there in a minute."

Jessica and Thrax headed to lunch and tried to talk with the other patients but mostly ended up talking to each other. They continued to get to know each other throughout the day, discussing everything from tech armor to MMO's. Both were happy with each other and were able to keep each other company right until lights out. They both went to sleep easily, finally feeling like they weren't so alone anymore.

 

[Wolfbane]

"Then there was two. This always seem to happen to us," He was rocking back and forth watching whatever was on the television at the time. "It's because you always wait till the last minute." Selenia turned and surveyed the now empty room with a sigh at the lack pf guests. "Not always. We do leave early, I just like hearing the actual end of a conversation.At least not a boring one, then I could care less about the topic. At least I didn't sound ominous. You practically turned this place into a freezer with that line," He gave a slight laugh as he stared into the bar's mirror behind the shelves that held the bottles. "Come on, don't give me that. I know you agree with what I said. If you didn't, then why did you get a blank stare, and tell me you want justice for Eden prime? We're both too keen on our instincts to think this will pass over like some attack that barely raises a side bar." She tapped her fingers while of the attack and the lives ruined. "I suppose you're right Sel. Anyways, we should get going. It's pretty late and we should get some shut eye in case we get called to track some sorry bastard to the ends of the galaxy and take care of him." He smiled at his long time friend, and they put their arm over each others shoulders while walking to the apartment they had on the station for their often visit.

"A soft bed could do us both some good. While the ship's quarters are comfortable, a soft apartment bed is a nice change along with the other rooms. I haven't been able to sleep well. Maybe a normal place to lay my head would help." Their legs walking the same motion due to the amount of time together. 'What did you think of the people?" She looked at him with curiosity, waiting for his answer. "I liked the dog. He was pretty interesting." He let out a laugh while Selenia had a sassy look of her own. "You know how I feel about people Sel. But if you have to know, they we're okay. I can't really say anymore because we don't know them." Vex looked down at their feet, counting the segments on the flooring. "That hasn't stopped you before." She lightly punched his side to get his attention. "You don't have a problem when you're laughing when I joke. Cynicism is one thing in my repertoire of humor." He smiled back as she laughed at the truth he had told.

Eventually they arrived at their decently sized apartment. The doors slid opened, and both of them let out a sigh of exhaustion and happiness. In the apartment was two double beds that both had a solid black sheet, covers, and pillows, and was soft enough to enjoy sleep. While Selenia slipping into something more comfortable, Vex looked out of the window and down at the wards. "You know I don't care if you see me without clothes. We've seen worse." He caught a quick glance of her chest from the window, then immediately shifted his gaze to a passing car. "I know Sel. It's just common courtesy to give someone their privacy. I know you don't break a gaze from me when you think I don't see you. "

After she was done, she walked over to him and leaned on him. "Can you blame me? Remember when he had to pose as a couple for that party one our target's hosted? I had to wear that dress I got from Illium. The while and blue one? Why did I buy that thing?" She gave a slight laugh when she saw Vex do the same, "You said it was in case of a mission, and you insisted on me buying a suit or a tuxedo, which I did. I did have a matching tie and a white shirt, so I guess I got a s jacket to wear them with. Those bastards at the party made me pull back my hair! Luckily we got out of there in time. You should get some sleep. You where I sleep if you need anything. Goodnight Sel." He hugged her goodnight, then went to change into his relax wear. "Goodnight James." She only uses James over Teller when she wants to be affectionate. Even then she uses Teller most of the time. After he changed, he climbed into bed, turned the lights out, and went to sleep thinking of the past.

 

[EpicVakarian]

Abby's eyes flickered open, her hand automatically reaching out to turn on the light. She shielded her eyes as they adjusted to the brightness, then rolled out of bed weakly and hobbled over to the kitchenette to make herself a cup of tea.
The water was boiled almost instantaneously, so she poured out the water and put in the teabag, the sugar and the milk. She stirred it a little with a spoon before picking up the mug and taking a sip, feeling the caffeine run through her system and energize her. Shuddering a little at the feeling, she placed down the mug, retreating to her bedroom to get dressed. Once she was safely in her white shirt, black hoodie and black leggings, along with the knee-high boots that provided a certain sense of security, she strode out into her living room.

Picking up the mug of tea, she sat down on the sofa, crossing her legs and turning on the TV. Shepard was on the news again, so Abby decided to sit and watch until it appeared that there were no new twists in the story. By this time, it was just about mid-day by her sleep cycle, so she decided to go down to the bar where she'd been last night, to see if they did meals.

"Excuse me, barman?" Abby called out as she stepped into the bar.
"What do you want, girl?" The barman asked in a raspy voice.
"Do you do meals here?"
"Yeah."
"Well then, can I order some fried eggs, some toast and a couple of sausages while you're at it, please."

The barman grimaced, going behind the bar and shouting orders at whoever was in the kitchen. Abby smiled, sitting down at a table and waiting for her food.

 

[CapObvious]

Brom's eyes slid open slowly. The room was still dark, as Nikah had turned on the automatic blinders before they had fell asleep. This made Brom feel disoriented, as his internal clock scrambled to make sense of what was going on around him.

Brom didn't move his body, but instead flicked his eyes to the left side of him, where he saw a wooden staff. He
blinked, being careful not to do much else. He knew what this meant, and he wasn't going to let Nikah get the upper hand. He could still feel Nikah's spine on his, so he knew she was still sitting down. But whether she was awake or not wasn't as clear.

He stilled himself, hoping to feel the pattern of her breathing, thinking it would give a tell tale sign. However, her breath was even as always. Why did he even think that would work?

This meant he would have to assume she was in fact awake, but he still wanted to be certain. He adjusted his back slightly, and felt Nikah suddenly become tense. She was awake alright, and now she was definitely aware of Brom being so as well.

Which meant he had to act fast.

His hand sped for the staff and tucked his body as he did so, rolling over the staff and reaching his feet in moments. When he looked up, he saw Nikah was doing the same, a small smirk playing on her face. They prepared their staffs for combat, and Brom struck first.

A quick swing came from above Nikah's head, but she hopped back, watching Brom's staff hit the padded floor with a muffled thud. She pulled a spinning kick at Brom's head, and it connected with a loud slap. Brom reeled slightly, and she capitalized with a smack of the staff to his chest. Brom snorted, trying not to lose his focus, despite the pain in his face and chest.

They started swinging again, each one parrying the other's swings, and trying their hardest to find an opening. Brom, trying something new, swung the staff down from above again, but this time, while Nikah was preparing to parry it, Brom shifted and swung his leg for the back of her knees. Unprepared for the sudden change of events, Nikah's legs buckled from the sudden kick, and she fell to the floor. Brom pressed a foot on her staff, which she had clutched to her chest, and pointed his staff at her face.

"Check and mate." Brom stated, his words interrupted by his jagged breaths. His face and chest still stung harshly, but he knew the fight was over.

Except it wasn't.

While Brom chuckled, Nikah twisted her legs around his swept his feet out from underneath him. Brom fell on his back with a sickening thud.

Both of them were on the floor, disarmed, and out of breath. Then, from out of nowhere, both began to chuckle loudly, until it was a roar of laughter from both of them, interrupted by sharp coughing. Both of them returned to their feet, and began to get ready for a new day.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nikah and Brom returned to bar from the night prior, ready to grab something small to prepare them for some more training. As the pair reached the door, Brom stopped at the sight of a figure with pink hair sitting in one of the seats. He sighed quietly, showing his near displeasure of the situation he was in.

It wasn't that he hated the girl. How could you hate someone you don't even know? It was mostly just the quipping Nikah had made the night before that made him uneasy. Nikah, seeing Brom's response to the girl, smiled slyly and walked over to her, taking the seat next to her. Brom reluctantly followed, sitting on the other side of Nikah. Nikah spoke up, not knowing if the girl noticed their arrival.

"Hello, again."

 

[Simus]

Jessica and Thrax were woken up at eight the next morning to have their vital signs checked. There was nothing wrong with them, that had been established when they arrived four days ago but those were hospital rules. They didn't mind: they had both slept well and breakfast was right afterwards. After they were told that they were still fine they headed to breakfast where they were greeted with an unusual conversation.

"...she's completely miserable! How can you expect her to find any sort of hope in a place like this!? If I were locked in her for four days I'd feel as dead as a charred varren! She can't be much happier." An unidentified voice argued.

"You listen to me officer." Madelyn barked. "Jessica's not leaving here until I say it's safe for her to do so. She's been through enough to make anyone go insane and by some miracle she hasn't. She tried to kill herself over what she saw. She's not going back out there yet and she's certainly not going with you."

"I'm not talking about discharging her. I know she's got nowhere to go and this is the safest place for her. You're right about that. All I'm suggesting is a couple of hours out in the wards. Some good food, fresh air, away from the poor souls in this place for a bit. She needs to feel free for a little while and remember that there's a world outside these walls. C'mon Madelyn, two hours, you can do that. Then she'll come right back here."

"If I do this, and we could both get in trouble for it, you're going to be with her all the time. You will keep an eye on her at all times, you will not put her in a situation where she could hurt herself. Do you understand?"

"I'm a C-Sec officer Madelyn. This is part of my job. If anything happens to Jessica, I'll take responsibility for it. I've done suicide watches before. I know what to do here."

Madelyn thought for a moment, then agreed. "Fine. She can go. She could use the exercise anyway. Two hours Garrus."


Jessica burst into the common room at that name. After the Alliance ship that had rescued her dropped her off at the Citadel, Garrus Vakarian was the C-Sec officer who had met with her and had taken her into protective custody. He was the first Turian Jessica had met and the first kind person she'd met on the Citadel. She had a bleeding hole in her left cheek from when she had tried to shoot herself and Garrus applied her medi-gel. He took her to the hospital in the Zakara Ward and sat with her all night in the emergency room, helping her make sense of what was going on, helping to explain the forms she signed to be admitted and helping her stay calm by simply holding her hand until she fell asleep. If all C-Sec officers were like Garrus Vakarian, then it was truly a wonderful force.


Jessica had also noticed that Garrus was a bit of a rebel, something that probably caused friction with his work at C-Sec. Twice he had chased out doctors who wanted to break Jessica's fitful sleep to sign something. When a rather annoying Salarian doctor asked Jessica for her insurance and payment information Garrus smashed the pad against a table corner. After that, Jessica remembered cursing and something about the Salarian having the sensitivity of a Krogan.

Once she was admitted Garrus said he'd be back the next day to check up on her but messaged her the same day saying his investigation into Saren was keeping him too busy. It had been three days since and no word. Jessica thought he had forgotten about her and was very happy to see otherwise!

"Garrus!" Jessica squealed. She ran over to the much taller Turain and hugged him. Garrus, caught off guard by this but happy to see her, returned her hug awkwardly. She broke it and smiled up at him. "You finally made it! It's been two days since I saw anything from you on the public terminal. I thought you'd forgotten about me."

"It's good to see you too kid." Garrus said, smiling as best as a Turian could. "I'm sorry I took so long to get over here. I've been completely consumed by my investigation into Saren for the last two days. I couldn't get away from it and I'm truly sorry about that. I never forgot you Jess, and I never will. You have my word on that."

"Thank you Garrus. You have no idea what that means to me. I'm not sure why you're so nice to me, being human and all, but...well...thank you."

"Jess...I don't give a Krogan's nuts that you're human. You're a teenage girl that's been through an experience that's killed men stronger and more dangerous than you and worse. Your world's been taken away from you and you need a friend more than anyone else on this whole damn station right now. And don't worry about me going out of my way to see you. Getting you better is more important than whatever bullplops the Executor might have me do."

"I'm glad you're my friend Garrus. I overheard you and Madelyn talking and yes, I would love to go out and get some breakfast with you. Anything to get out of here for awhile."

"And you promise to behave, right Jess?" Madelyn asked in a motherly tone.

"Yes ma'am. I promise. I promise I won't do anything to hurt myself and I won't make any trouble for Garrus. Can Thrax come too?"

"I don't see why not. Thrax? Are you interested?"

"You bet I am!"

Madelyn sighed and rolled her eyes. "Fine. Go."

"Yes!" Jessica and Thrax said together, double high fiving each other.

"Then that settles it. We leave once you're dressed and ready. I convinced the staff to let you have your boots back."

Jessica ran through the shower and then quickly changed into her black "remember Shanxi" T shirt, blue skinny jeans and black knee high riding boots. It felt good to have the leather press against her jean-protected legs as she zipped them up. Afterwards she threw on her black leather jacket while Thrax put on a pair of cargo shorts and a Galaxy of Fantasy T shirt. They exited the hospital behind Garrus and soon were secure inside his C-Sec car zooming across Zakera Ward.

The bar the arrived at was crowded even at this early hour. Garrus came her for the drinks but heard from others that the food was good. Most of it he couldn't eat without poisoning himself but Jessica and Thrax certainly could! After scanning the room and finding no empty tables, Garrus walked towards the least empty one. It was a round table with six chairs. Three were taken up by a young human woman with pink hair, a human man and a drell woman. Jessica and Thrax walked over to them but stayed behind Garrus while he introduced them.

"Pardon me miss," Garrus asked the pink haired girl. "My friends here need some breakfast but all the tables are full. Would you mind if they sat here with you?"

For all Garrus knew the girl was expecting her boyfriend to join her and the human and drell were honing in on her already, but he didn't really gave a damn. Everybody respected C-Sec so she would say yes. Jessica and Thrax would enjoy their limited freedom. He would see to that.

(OOC: No, I am not picking up Garrus as a third character. There's no Shepard without Vakarian after all. He was just a good plot device to get Jess out into the rest of the RP. Hope I wrote him well )

 

[Andre Marek]

Skylar slowly woke to the sound of the CItadels news channel. Shepard seemed to be the topic of discussion yet again but her mind was still half asleep so she missed most of what was said. Something large and covered in fur moved against her leg and it took her a moment to figure out that it was Ajax and a moment more to realize that she was still on the couch, sprawled uncomfortably across it with her head resting awkwardly on the arm rest. Her neck burned as she sat up with a groan. Ajax grumbled and yawned expansively.

"Uh, hell." She muttered. Standing, she arched her back and walked away from the living room towards the kitchen to see if the room had anything worth eating. Ajax jumped over the back of the couch and followed. As she rummaged through the suites small kitchen, Skylar glanced at the tv, hearing Andersons name again. Apparently, Anderson and Shepard were due to make another appearance at the council chamber shortly. Huh. Maybe theres more to their accusations than I thought. She closed the fridge frowning. Apparently the suites price didn't include any foodstuffs. "Well Ajax, it looks like we're eating out for breakfast." Skylar headed for her room, "But not before a shower."

After she finished taking a shower and had gotten dressed again, Skylar and Ajax took the elevator back down to the lobby and headed back out into the walkways that made up this part of the wards. She wasn't really familiar with this part of the huge space station so she decided that the pub from last night would be as good a place as any to grab a meal. Ajax walked ahead of her, as though he knew exactly where they were headed without even being told. It didn't take long to find the place again but she was surprised to find that most of the tables were already occupied, save a couple empty seats at the bar, which Ajax made a beeline for. Just as the canine got to the seats, a turian with white and blue facial markings went to sit down at one but stopped when Ajax growled low in his chest, baring his teeth. The turian eyed the dog and pulled his hand back from the back rest. "I think you'd best find some place else to sit pal." Skylar grinned at the turian.

"There isn't anywhere else to sit! Besides, there's two chairs." He said.

"Too bad my friend here doesn't see it that way. And I like my elbow room." Skylar smiled broadly at him. After a second look at Ajax, the turian grumbled something to himself but took the hint and walked off. She watched him go and wondered why some humans thought turians were intimidating. Since the first time she'd seen one, she'd always thought of them as rather fragile looking with all their little horns and spiky bits. Not to mention their whip-like thinness. Even if it would suck to be mauled by one, she hadn't yet found a turian whose physique impressed her all that much. Humans just look so much more... robust.

As she turned back to the barman to order, a brightly colored flash in the corner of her eye made her do a double take of a table off to her left. Seated around a six person table were none other than the pink haired woman from the night before, along with the handsome man with the drell girl from the night before. Also sitting there were three new faces. A young girl in a leather jacket sat beside a salarian and another turian, this one wearing the blue and black light armor that was standard issue to all C-sec personnel and his face was adorned with dark blue markings along with a targeting monocle over his left eye. Skylar gave the group an odd look and nodded to them before turning to order her meal.